Dynamic Language Blog

Responding to an emergency can be tough when you can't understand the person who's injured or in peril.

But in Monroe, Wash., firefighters are learning something that will help them respond to the city’s growing Hispanic population—Spanish.

The Department of Homeland Security is funding the project, which will take one year to complete, and which will help firefighters communicate with the Spanish-speaking population during fire and first aid responses.

Specifically, Monroe firefighters are learning words and phrases related to injuries and to their profession, and anything else that might come up in an emergency.